As we approach the highly anticipated Paris 2024 Olympics, Indian badminton players are gearing up to seize a golden opportunity. The Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750, which will take place at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from January 16-21, 2024, offers a platform for these athletes to earn crucial points and secure their Olympic berths.
Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024: Indian hopefuls gear up to exploit home advantage with Paris Olympics qualification at stake; draws announced
Among the competitors, Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with bronze medallist HS Prannoy, are set to strengthen their global ranking before the Paris Olympics. Meanwhile, previous World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen, and rising star Priyanshu Rajawat eye the second Indian spot at the Games.
The Paris Olympics qualification rules state that two Indian men’s singles players can participate in the Games only if they both rank among the Top-16 by the end of the qualification process, which concludes on April 30, 2024.
Thanks to its upgrade to a Super 750 category from Super 500 last year, the Yonex-Sunrise India Open, organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), now offers players the chance to earn significantly higher ranking points. This change has attracted almost all the Top-10 players in the current world ranking to the competition.
Badminton fans will have the pleasure of watching these top players perform at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall free of charge, as BAI has decided to offer free entry for the entire six-day event.
BAI General Secretary Sanjay Mishra shares his excitement for the upcoming week of top-notch badminton, saying, “The BAI has consistently maintained a very high standard of preparation for the India Open, and that has ensured that it is now a Super 750 level event. This means that all our Olympics hopefuls will have a good chance of using the home conditions to earn valuable points and even win the title.”
In the men’s singles opening round, young talents Sen and Rajawat are guaranteed a pre-quarterfinal spot as they face each other. Eighth seed Prannoy will start his campaign against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei and will later compete against the winner of the Sen-Rajawat match if he clears the first round.
On the women’s side, All England semi-finalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, along with Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, are also vying for an Olympics spot in a heated competition.
The event promises to be a thrilling spectacle, featuring high-profile matches like former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore vs reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng of China, and top seed Viktor Axelsen beginning his campaign against Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei.
With such an array of talent on display, the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 is sure to be an unmissable event for badminton enthusiasts.
